Bubble cap assembly



y 4, 1953 P. J. SULLIVAN BUBBLE CAP ASSEMBLY Filed Jan. 4, 1952 lill'lllllllIil lill F'IC3.6

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INVEN'TOR PHILIP SULLIVAN ATTOFZNEYS Patented July 14, 1953 .Gilbert .-,& Barker Manufacturing Company, .Wcst .-S,pringfield,;Mass., a corporation of Mas- .sachusetts Application January 4, 1952,,Serial No. 264,865

Thisinvention relates tozimprovements in-bubble .cap assemblies Tore use in the l bubble trays l of fractionating towers.

The invention has for an object the provision in a bubble cap assembly of an improved strong back in the formof-a fiat plate, which may be made as .a punching from thin sheet-metal, such ,as stainless-steel for example, and which hasone part that extends acrossthe chimney and has :its side edges frictionally engaged betweenpairs of shoulders formed on the interior .wallof the chimney, one pair at eachof two opposite locations thereon, so as to be held .in upright relation, and another part that projects through the top wallof the bubble-cap and has a slot therethrough to receive a=wedge-which;holds the cap,

chimney and strong back to the floor plate of the tray.

The invention will bedisclosed with reference to the acompanying drawings, in which, i

Fig. 1 is a top plan view-of a bubble capassembly embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is an exterior elevational view thereof;

Fig. 3 is a cross sectional view taken-onxthe line3--3 of Fig. 1; V

Fig. 4 is a sectional "plan view takenon the line 4-4 of .Fig. 3;

Fig. 5is a cross sectional view -takemsimilarly to Fig. 3 and illustrating theappl-ication-of the strongback to a bubble capassembly of another type; and

Fig. .6 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modification.

Referring to these -,drawings; .9. portion of a floor plate of a bubble tray is shown at l and such plate '(Fig; 3) has an 'openingtherethrough in which a chimney 2 or :riser is engaged. This chimney has a fiange.3,.which is iturnedoutwardly from "its lower endand abuts the lower face of plate :whenthe chimney-isathrust'upwardly through the .trayopeningasrfarzas possible. The

chimney preferably tightly fits the tray opening so as to be frictionally retained in position without manual assistance during the assembly of other parts. A bell cap 4 encompasses the chimney in radially-spaced coaxial relation and has its lower end resting on the upper face of plate I. This cap has the usual series of angularlyspaced slots 5 in its peripheral portion and a single centrally-located slot extending through its top wall. The tray opening, the chimney and the cap may be of any desired shape and in the example shown are cylindrical.

The strong back 6 of the bubble cap assembly is made from thin sheet metal and. may be formed 2 Claims. (01. 261114) at one operation by punching. It is flat'andits slotin the top wall of apit.

body portion '1 has parallel sides'8 and a width "Which'is substantially equal, in this case, to the internal diameter of the chimney or,.if the chimney has a difierent shape, to the width of that "portion of the chimney that it is desired to have the strong back span. The chimney .2 :is: suitably provided on its inner face with twooppositelylocated vertically-extending grooves 'to receive the side edges of the body portion i! of thestrong back. Ass'hown in Fig. 4, each such groove "is provided between two ridges'fi, whichform shoulders-and may conveniently be-formed by pressing inwardly portions of the peripheral wall of the chimney. At its lower end, the strong :back

has twoears I0,'which project beyond the sides =8-and are adapted'to engage beneath the floor "plate and, 'in this case, with the flange 3 of -the "chimney. Theupper end of the strong back is formed as an ear H to passthrough thecentral This ear is connected to the body portion '7 of the strong :back by a portion I2 which may be of any desired shape. The ear H has a vertical .slot therethrough to receive a suitable wedge 3. .As shown herein, this wedge is made up of two strips TM of sheet metal, mounted 'face'to :face in contiguous relation and suitably secured together near one end, as'by spot welding, as indicatedsat IS. The unsecured 'endsof the wedge stripsmay be spread as shown in :Fig. 1, after the wedge has beendriven in place, inorder to prevent-loosening of the wedge. Preferably one end of one strip [4 projects beyond the other as shown in 2 to facilitate the spreading :of .the strips.

All the parts of the bubble cap assembly, in

the example shown, are constructed ,of stainless steel.

"In assembling theparts, the-strong backitzmay first be thrust .inpla-ce inthe chimneyl2 and the latter then :pressed-into-place in the tray opening. The strong back will :be irictionally retained in position in the chimney and the latter will be frictionally retained in the tray opening, with- .out manual assistance. The strong back, being engaged in the groove; between the ridges 9, will be properly located vertically and at right angles to plate I. The bell cap is then put in place, the ear ll passing through the slot in the top wall and serving to locate the cap so that it lies in the proper radially-spaced coaxial relationship with the chimney. Then, the wedge I3 is driven through the slot in ear H and the engagement of the body of the strong back between the pairs of ridges 9 on the chimney serves to prevent displacement of the car during this operation. After the wedge has been driven in place its unsecured ends are spread as above described to prevent loosening or accidental removal of the wedge.

The same strong back can also be used with the type of bubble cap assembly shown in Fig. 5. Here, the chimney 2 has its base flange 3 resting on the upper face of plate I and the bell cap 4 is'supported from the top of the chimney, as by vanes it, which are fixed to the cap and extend downwardly and inwardly. These vanes have shoulders I! to engage the top of chimney 2 and other shoulders [8 to engage the external periphery of the chimney and cause the bell cap to be located in proper radially-spaced coaxial relation with the chimney. The cap 4 has a plurality of notches 5' in its periphery for the same purpose as the slots 5 of the cap first above described.

In assembling the parts of this type of bubble cap assembly, the chimney 2 is put in place on plate I in alignment with the hole in the plate and then the strong back is pushed upwardly from below, its side edges 8 engaging in the grooves between the shoulder-forming ridges 9, as before, and its projections l0 eventually engaging the lower f'ace of plate I. The frictional fit of the strong back 6 in the chimney 2 will retain these parts in position without manual assistance, while the workman puts the cap i in place. The wedge 13 is applied, as before, to exert an upward force on the strong back and a downward force on the cap, whereby the cap is forced against the chimney and the latter against plate I.

In each example illustrated the bubble cap is supported from the tray plate I, in the first example directly and in the second example, indirectlyj and in each example the ears IQ of the strong back engage beneath the plate I as an anchorage so that the wedge can force the cap downwardly and clamp'it to the tray.

The shoulders by means of which the strong back 6 is held in vertical position in the chimney may be formed, as shown in Fig. 6, by pressing inwardly upper and lower pairs of dimples 9. Each side edge of the strong back is engaged between the shoulders of the lower pair and between the shoulders of the upper pair.

The invention thus provides a strong back of improved construction for use in bubble cap assemblies of that class wherein the parts are held together and to the tray by means of a wedge.

What is claimed is:

1. A bubble cap assembly, comprising in combination with a floor plate having an opening therethrough, a chimney connected with. said opening and upstanding from the tray, a cap supported from the tray with its periphery encompassing the periphery of the chimney in radially-spaced coaxial relation and its top wall overlying the upper end of the chimney and having a centrally-located slot extending therethrough, a flat plate of thin sheet metal having a portion with parallel side edges extending uprightly through the chimney from the bottom to the topthereof, said side edges frictionally engaging the interior peripheral wall thereof at opposite locations thereon, shoulders on said'wall of the chimney on opposite sides of said portion and adjacent each side edge thereof for maintaining the portion in upright relation with the chimney, ears on the lower end of said portion of the flat plate projecting beyond the opening in the floor plate and engaged beneath the floor plate, said flat plate having a projection from the upper end of said portion extending upwardly and. terminating with an ear which extends through the slot in the top wall of said capand projects above the same, the last-named ear having a vertical slot through the portion which projects above the cap, and a wedge extending through the last-named slot and bearing on the top wall of said capfor clamping the cap, chimney and flat plate to the floor plate.

2. A bubble cap assembly, comprising in combination with a floor plate having an opening therethrough, a chimney connected with said opening and upstanding from the tray, a cap supported from the tray with its periphery encompassing the periphery of the chimney in radially-spaced coaxial relation and its top wall overlying the upper end of the chimney and having a centrally-located slot extending therethrough, said chimney having in its interior peripheral wall vertically-extending grooves located one at each of two opposite locations, and a hat plate of thin sheet metal having a body portion extending upwardly through'the chimney from the bottom to the top thereof and spanning across the same with its side edges frictionally engaged one in each of said grooves, ears on the lower portion of the flat plate projecting beyond the opening in the floor plate and engaged beneath the floor plate, said fiat plate having a portion extending upwardly from the body portion and terminating V References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,175,360 Peff Oct. 10, 1939 2,443,812 Ackroyd June 22, 1948 2,547,383 Glitsch Apr. 3, 1951 2,580,260 Winters Dec. 25, 1951 2,602,652 Haynes July 8, 1952 

